VANCOUVER (CityNews) – American voters in Canada are hoping for unity after U.S. President-elect Joe Biden gets sworn in on Inauguration Day Wednesday.
Many have said it’s been hard for Americans in Canada, on either side of the ballot, to see division in the U.S.
Jennifer Philips, the communications director with Democrats abroad Vancouver, says she is disappointed with what’s been happening.
“It’s overwhelming. I think we’ve dealt with multiple years of partisan politics, plays against either side, for political gain. I was hopeful for a change in that. And I’m saddened by what’s been going on in the last couple of weeks, and the direct attack against our democracy,” she says.
Philips wants to “see people coming together and fighting for what’s right. Not blue, nor red, just what’s right for the American people.”
She says she is grateful to be in Canada where she believes there is “a community mindset, over an individual mindset.”
“And that’s what I’m hoping for the U.S. I want people there to realize that their choices, their words, their actions, impact their community at large, and come together to fight for that community, fight for what’s right for everyday humans,” she tells CityNews.
Democrats are not alone in expressing their hope for unity in their home country.
Mark Feighenbaum, the chair of Republicans Overseas Canada in Toronto, is hoping for the country to come together after Inauguration Day.
“My hope, like I said, that all sides get together. Lincoln wanted to work forward after the Civil War – and not that this was a Civil War by any stretch – and just move on,” he says.
It's been a long set of weeks since November when the U.S. Election was initially called. @KierJunos speaks with American voters in Canada 13 on both sides of the ballot.https://t.co/a9SaA0jSek pic.twitter.com/CFuAXzH37q
— CityNews Vancouver (@CityNewsVAN) January 19, 2021
Since Biden won the presidential election, his soon-to-be predecessor, Donald Trump, has made repeated claims of voter fraud and continued to spread misinformation and inflammatory comments forcing Twitter and other big tech companies to suspend Trump from their platforms.
BREAKING: Twitter Safety is confirming that U.S. President Donald Trump's account is now permanently suspended. DETAILS HERE: https://t.co/ObR9NWCLW1
— Ria Renouf (@riarenouf) January 8, 2021
Trump’s repeated attempts to overturn the American election resulted in insurrectionists raiding the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. Five people, including a police officer, died in the chaos.
Trump was impeached by the U.S. House for a historic second time, charged with “incitement of insurrection” over the raid.
Biden calling the mob at the Capitol "extremists" and says the chaos is not a true reflection of America. Calls on Trump to go on Television now and to demand an end to the scene at the Capitol. @NEWS1130 #uspoli #CapitolBuilding
— Tarnjit Parmar (@Tarnjitkparmar) January 6, 2021
More than 25,000 National Guard troops have been deployed to Washington, D.C ahead of the inauguration. The Capitol building was temporarily locked down during an inauguration rehearsal on Monday after a fire in a homeless camp nearby caused security concerns in an already tense city.
Trump has said he won’t attend the inauguration.
Vice-President Mike Pence will be there as well as other former presidents when Biden and Vice-President-elect Kamala Harris are sworn in Jan. 20 at 9 a.m. PST.
-With files from The Associated Press